quell (v.)

Middle English quellen "to kill" (a person or animal), from Old English cwellan "to kill, cause to die; murder, execute," from Proto-Germanic *kwaljanan (source also of Old English cwelan "to die," cwalu "violent death;" Old Saxon quellian "to torture, kill;" Old Norse kvelja "to torment;" Middle Dutch quelen "to vex, tease, torment;" Old High German quellan "to suffer pain," German quälen "to torment, torture"), from PIE root *gwele- "to throw, reach," with extended sense "to pierce."

The original sense is obsolete; the milder sense of "suppress, extinguish, cause to cease," developed by c. 1300; that of "reduce to peace or subjection" is by 1560s. Compare quail (v.). "The common identification of quell with kill (1), of which it is said to be the earlier form, is erroneous" [Century Dictionary]. Related: Quelled; quelling.

Entries linking to quell

quail (v.)

c. 1400, "have a morbid craving;" early 15c., "grow feeble or sick, begin to die;" mid-15c., "to fade, fail, give way," probably from Middle Dutch quelen "to suffer, be ill," from Proto-Germanic *kwaljan (source also of Old Saxon quelan "to die," Old High German quelan "die," German quälen "suffer pain"), from PIE root *gwele- "to throw, reach," with extended sense "to pierce."

Or perhaps from obsolete quail "to curdle" (late 14c.), from Old French coailler, from Latin coagulare (see coagulate).

Sense of "lose heart or courage, shrink before a danger or difficulty, cower" is attested from 1550s. According to OED, the word was common 1520-1650, then rare until 19c., when apparently it was revived by Scott. Related: Quailed; quailing.

quale (n.)

an obsolete word for "death; a plague; a murrain," Middle English, from Old English cwalu "slaughter, destruction," cognate with Old Norse kval "torment, torture," from a variant of the root of quell.

qualm

queller

*gwele-

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adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/. Ngrams are probably unreliable.

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qualm

Middle English, from Old English cwealm, cwelm (West Saxon) "death, murder, slaughter; disaster; widespread death by plague, pestilence or illness affecting humans or livestock; torment," utcualm (Anglian) "utter destruction," probably related to cwellan "to kill, murder, execute

quench

Middle English quenchen, "to extinguish, put out" (heat, light, fire, also of desire, hunger, thirst), also figurative, "to bring to naught, eliminate, render ineffectual" (c. 1200), Old English acwencan "to quench" (of fire, light), from Proto-Germanic *kwenkjanan, probably a ca

stay

mid-15c., steien, transitive, "detain, hold back," from Old French estai-, stem of estare "to stay or stand," from Latin stare "to stand, stand still, remain standing; be upright, be erect; stand firm, stand in battle; abide; be unmovable; be motionless; remain, tarry, linger; ta

appease

c. 1300 appesen, "reconcile," from Anglo-French apeser, Old French apaisier "to pacify, make peace, appease, be reconciled, placate" (12c.), from the phrase a paisier "bring to peace," from a "to" (see ad-) + pais, from Latin pacem (nominative pax) "peace" (see peace). The meanin

satisfy

early 15c., satisfien, "do penance," also "appease, assuage;" also "fulfill (a desire), comply with (a command), satiate (a hunger or thirst)," from Old French satisfiier "pay, repay, make reparation" (14c., Modern French satisfaire), from Latin satisfacere "discharge fully, comp

fulfill

Old English fullfyllan "fill up" (a room, a ship, etc.), "make full; take the place of (something)," from full (adj.), here perhaps with a sense of "completion" + fyllan (see fill (v.), which is ultimately from the same root). It was used from mid-13c. in reference to prophecy (p

suppress

late 14c. (implied in verbal noun suppressing) "be burdensome," also "quell, cause to cease;" from Latin suppressus, past participle of supprimere "press down, stop, hold back, check, stifle," from assimilated form of sub "below, under" (see sub-) + premere "to press, hold fast,

inhibit

early 15c., "to forbid, prohibit," back-formation from inhibition or else from Latin inhibitus, past participle of inhibere "to hold in, hold back, keep back," from in- "in, on" (from PIE root *en "in") + habere "to hold" (from PIE root *ghabh- "to give or receive"). Psychologica

curb

late 15c., "strap passing under the jaw of a horse" (attached to the bit of the bridle and used to restrain the animal), from Old French courbe "curb on a horse" (12c.), from Latin curvus, from curvare "to bend," from PIE root *sker- (2) "to turn, bend." The same word was used la

subdue

late 14c., subduen, "to conquer (an army, a people, a land) and reduce to subjection," from Old French souduire (but this meant "deceive, seduce"), from Latin subducere "draw away, lead away, carry off; withdraw" (see subduce; also compare subduct). The primary sense in English s

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updated on March 03, 2021

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